Pro update
By Jason Paul | July 3, 2008
Incoming freshman defenseman Greg Pateryn hasn’t even started his collegiate career, yet his professional career has already taken a shift. The Toronto Maple Leafs sent Pateryn and a 2nd round pick in 2010 to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Mikhail Grabovski.
Dwight Helminen has signed a two-way deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. Dewey will make $475,000 if he sticks with the NHL club and $100,000 if he ends up in the AHL. Helminen was originally drafted by the New York Rangers and spent three years with their AHL affiliate in Hartford before spending last season in Finland.
Former Wolverine netminder Al Montoya has signed a new deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Rangers shipped the 23 year old goalie to the Coyotes last season as part of a five player swap. Montoya was 8-6-0 with a 2.59 GAA and .912 save percentage with Phoenix’s AHL affiliate San Antonio. Prior to the trade he was 16-8-3 with a 2.54 GAA with the Rangers’ affiliate in Hartford.
Montoya has battled injuries the past few years and has still yet to see action in the NHL. He will be fighting for the backup spot on the main roster, though most expect him to take over as the #1 goalie in San Antonio.
Topics: Pro News | No Comments »
Four incoming freshmen picked in NHL Draft
By Jason Paul | June 21, 2008
Incoming freshman defenseman Brandon Burlon has been selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round, 52nd overall.
Incoming freshman forward Robbie Czarnik was taken by the Los Angeles Kings in the 3rd round, 63rd overall.
Incoming freshman defenseman Greg Pateryn went in the 5th round, 128th overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Incoming freshman forward David Wohlberg went in the 6th round, 172nd overall to the New Jersey Devils.
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
NHL Draft: Streak comes to an end for Wolverines
By Jason Paul | June 20, 2008
First Round streak ends for Wolverines
The first round is in the books and the Wolverines had no players selected this year, ending their streak of seven consecutive years with a first round draft pick. The last time the Wolverines didn’t have a first round draft pick was in 2000, when their lone draft pick that year was Andy Hilbert in the 2nd round (37th overall) by Boston.
Cammy traded to Calgary
Before the draft has even begun, Los Angeles has shipped former Wolverine star Mike Cammalleri to Calgary for the Flames #17 overall pick. The Kings then sent the #17 and #28 first round selections to Anaheim for the #12 pick.
Draft has begun…
#1 Tampa Bay - No surprise, Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting (OHL) goes #1 overall. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
NHL Draft tonight
By Jason Paul | June 20, 2008
The NHL Entry Draft takes place tonight in Ottawa. It starts at 7 p.m. and the opening round can be seen on Versus.
Incoming freshman defenseman Brandon Burlon is the highest rated Wolverine and is expected to be a second round draft pick, though there is a chance he might get taken in the first round.
Draft update later tonight.
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
Potential departure and line shuffling
By Jason Paul | June 18, 2008
With the arrival of Greg Pateryn and walk-on Luke Glendening, the Wolverines have an overloaded roster and there was some speculation as to who might be leaving. The Ann Arbor News asked assistant coach Billy Powers, who said, “Unless something dramatic happens, we’ll have 27 instead of 26 on our roster. What that does is afford us a depth opportunity.”
The only likely departure at this point is Max Pacioretty. According to Michael Spath at The Wolverine, Patch would like sign with Montreal but his family wants him to return. We’ll see who wins the tug of war if that’s the case.
Spath also had a tidbit that a potential top line being thrown around is Summers-Patch-Palushaj. Now you see the “depth opportunity” coach Powers speaks of. We’re so used to having a small, skilled center on our lines, but I think this past season’s success of Porter moving from wing to center showed that doesn’t need to be the case. A Summers-Patch-Palushaj line brings a lot of size, speed, skill, scoring, and physical play that might be hard for opponents to match up against. I think Patch might have played center in his year in the USHL, but I don’t recall for sure.
Also, if they are intent on moving Summers to forward, I’ve made my position clear in the past that it should be to one of the top two lines. Taking our #2 d-man (or some could argue #1) and moving him to a third line checking role and reducing his minutes would be a waste of his talent and development, especially when you consider he could easily be signing on the dotted line with Phoenix right now, so a move to the top forward pairing would be nice to see. Chris had a stint alongside Andrew Cogliano and Chad Kolarik his freshman year and did a great job. Not only did he score some big goals for us, but he also brought a physical edge that was lacking up front.
Of course, this would all be an experiment, too, as we have to see how the defense holds up without Summers back there. Theoretically they should be pretty solid as the Wolverines return five regulars on the blue line and Mark Mitera will only have to break in two freshmen—Pateryn and Brandon Burlon.
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
2008-09 hockey schedule released
By Jason Paul | June 17, 2008
The 2008-09 hockey schedule has officially been released on MGoBlue.com.
The Wolverines open the season Oct. 4 with an exhibition game against the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team followed by an exhibition against Waterloo.
They open the season with a nonconference series against St. Lawrence, then hit the road to the Upper Peninsula to open CCHA play against Northern Michigan.
Michigan will then return to Yost for a Thursday night game against Niagara, then travel to Boston University two days later. There had been some rumors that Michigan was to face UMass and BU that weekend, but either they were false or didn’t materialize and we’re stuck with an oddball Thursday game against the Purple Eagles.
After a home stand against Ohio State, the Wolverines will play seven of their next eight games on the road, then finish the first half of the season with a home-and-home with Michigan State.
The annual Great Lakes Invitational will see the Wolverines defend their crown against Michigan Tech, then face either Michigan State or North Dakota.
For all their traveling, the Wolverines get rewarded in the second half of the season as 9 of their first 12 games of 2009 will be at Yost, plus a neutral site game at the Joe against Michigan State.
They’ll close out the regular season with a pair of games at Ohio State, then a home-and-home with Ferris State.
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
Wolverines add walk-on recruit; Schedule coming soon
By Jason Paul | June 12, 2008
Press release from MGoBlue.com
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan ice hockey head coach Red Berenson announced on Thursday (June 12) that forward Luke Glendening (Grand Rapids, Mich.) will join the Wolverines as a walk-on for the 2008-09 campaign. Glendening becomes the fifth member of U-M’s freshman class this fall, joining two forwards and two defensemen.
Glendening spent a postgraduate year at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut in 2007-08. He helped the Bearcats to a 14-6-4 record, scoring eight goals and 20 assists while playing in all 24 contests. In addition to lettering in hockey, the 5-10, 185-pound Glendening was a standout for Hotchkiss in football and baseball. Prior to attending the Hotchkiss School, Glendening graduated from East Grand Rapids High School.
“Luke will provide some depth up front for us,” said U-M assistant coach Billy Powers. “He’s an intelligent centerman who is strong physically and plays with an edge.”
U-M’s two other incoming forwards this fall are Robbie Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) and David Wohlberg (South Lyon, Mich.), both of whom played the last two seasons with the Ann Arbor-based U.S. National Team Development Program. The incoming defensive duo for the Wolverines is Brandon Burlon (Nobleton, Ontario) and Greg Pateryn (Sterling Heights, Mich.). Burlon is from St. Michael’s of the Ontario Provincial Hockey League, while Pateryn is from the Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets of the United States Hockey League.
The 2008-09 season will commence on Saturday, Oct. 4, when the Wolverines face off against the U.S. NTDP Under-18 Team in exhibition action. The complete 2008-09 schedule will be released early next week.
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
Pateryn to come this fall, but no one flunked
By Jason Paul | June 11, 2008
MGoBlog reported last night on a story posted by WDAY.com in which Fargo Force (USHL) head coach Dean Blais said Michigan recruit Greg Pateryn would join the Wolverines this fall rather than in 2009. Brian also mentioned that in the accompanying video Blais said Red called him and told him someone didn’t make it academically, thus the headline on MGoBlog which reads “Hockey player flunks out; Pateryn coming in.”
Not true, according to a source who said there are not going to be any departures from the hockey program due to academic reasons. He did confirm Pateryn will join this fall, but “it’s not because we need him to fill a roster spot of a player not performing well in the classroom.”
As someone on The Wolverine said, Red is usually pretty good about keeping on top of kids grades and has even in the past benched them until they got their act together. Also, don’t student athletes typically go on academic probation for a semester first rather than just flunking out?
In any event, you can take that quote how you will. There may still be someone leaving and I would imagine it being a current player than future recruit if that’s the case seeing as Pateryn was going to spend another year in the USHL. There wouldn’t have been any imminent rush to have him join early if it were a future recruit not coming.
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
Burlon signs for ‘08
By Jason Paul | May 30, 2008
Sorry for the delay in posting this one.
The Michigan hockey team capped off their 2008-09 recruiting period by signing St. Michael’s Buzzers defenseman Brandon Burlon. St. Mike’s is the same program that produced current Wolverine Louie Caporusso and former standout Andrew Cogliano.
The 6-foot, 190-pound rearguard was an alternate captain for the Buzzers this past season and helped lead them to team records for wins (43), points (88), and fewest losses (4) en route to capturing the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League regular season title. Burlon posted seven goals and 17 assists in 32 regular season games and added another two goals and eight assists in 12 playoff games before the Buzzers were knocked out in the second round.
In 2007 Burlon was selected to the CJAHL Top Prospects game (though was unable to participate), won a gold medal with Team Ontario at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, and captured a silver medal with the Canada East squad at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge. All his achievements have helped earned him the 41st ranking among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
“He’s not an overly big defenseman, but he has really good mobility and a good shot from the point,” said NHL Central Scouting’s Chris Edwards. “He jumps up into the rush well, but needs to improve on his defensive reliability. He played in a really small rink this year and was still able to move the puck quickly and well. Puck-skill wise, he’s good, and as he moves up, his decision-making will improve.”
St. Michael’s head coach and GM Richard Ricci adds, “Brandon is a highly mobile defenseman with deceptive speed. His strengths include a pro shot and the ability to get it off quickly, especially one-timers. He has good vision on the ice and plays a controlled and composed game. Areas of improvement and growth include his physical play and decision-making of when to join the rush. He battles hard, is a fierce competitor and is extremely good at running a power-play.”
FAVORITES (from the NHL Draft Guide)
NHL Team: Boston Bruins
NHL Player: Tomas Kaberle
Shootout move: Snapshot
Goal celebration: “Small fist pump with a yell”
Practice Drill: One-on-one battle drills
Movie: Tombstone
TV Show: King of Queens
Actor/Actress: Robert DeNiro and Julia Roberts
Group: Foo Fighters
Book: The Outsiders
Food to cook: Pasta and eggs
Sport (other than hockey): Golf
Activity away from the rink: Working out
Toy growing up: Squishy squeaky mouse
Place to shop: Bass Pro Shops
Place to visit: Grandparents house
Topics: Michigan Hockey | No Comments »
Playoff Roundup: Three is the magic number
By Jason Paul | April 30, 2008
In the NHL last night, Detroit took a 3-0 series lead over Colorado following a 4-3 win in Denver. Some Hensick kid got an assist on the Avs first goal. T.J. saw about 14 minutes of ice time and had a +1 rating and three shots on goal.
Down in Dallas, the Stars took a 3-0 series lead over San Jose with a 2-1 overtime victory. Marty Turco made 19 stops and looks to be on a collision course with the Red Wings.
Pittsburgh took a 3-0 series lead over the New York Rangers in the night’s other game.
In the ECHL last night, Las Vegas took a 3-0 series lead over Alaska with a 5-2 win. Former Wolverine defenseman Jason Dest iced the game with an empty net goal for the Wranglers.
Topics: Pro News | No Comments »
« Previous Entries